Method and means for shipping packages and the like



L. F. HINTZ 1,705,058 IBTHOD AND IEANS FOR SHIPPING PACKAGES AND THELIKE March 12, 1929.

Filed Sept. 16. 1925 2 sheep s-sheet 1 gwum rtoz March 12, 1929. 121,705,058

IBI'HOD AND IEANS FOR SHIPPING PACKAGES AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 15,1925 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 S 15' x 1% J6 6 I. b 1 T1 mu M- 10 J6 k 16 M L 1 1m. g f x E "was" J6 KI Ill/ 444x Patented Mar. 12, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LEROY I. HINTZ, OI CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0GERRARD COMPANY, INC OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, A CORPORATION OF DELA-WARE.

METHOD AND MEANS FOR SHIPPING PACKAGES AND THE LIKE.

Application filed September 16, 1925. Serial No. 56,741.

Thi invention relates to a method of and means for assembling andsecuring packages, bales, boxes, bundles, and the like, of merchandise,cargoes, etc., for shipment.

The object of the invention is to provide a method of and means forassembling and securing individual packages, bales, boxes,

bundles, and the like, of any and all sorts.

of merchandise, cargoes, and the like, for freight or other shipment, onfreight or other cars, boats, ships, or carriers generally, in suchmanner as to reduce and eliminate damage, injury, or loss, due torelative movement, impact, .or impingement of the individual box,package, bundle, or the like, upon or against adjacent ones, or upon oragainst the walls of the carrier under the influence of shocks, jars,jolts, or other movements of the carrier while in transit.

Other objects of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter.

The invention consists substantially in the steps or combinations ofsteps, constituting the method, and in the parts and combinaions ofparts, and arrangement thereof, constituting the means, all as will bemore fully hereinafter set forth, as illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, and finally pointed out in the appended claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein like numerals designatelike parts in all the views,-

Fig. 1 is a broken, diagrammatic, horizontal, sectional plan view of afreight car, or other carrier, showing an application of my invention topackages of merchandise carried thereby.

Fig. 2 is a vertical, transverse section of the same on the line 2-2 ofFig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged broken detailed view in transverse section, on theline 33- of Fig. 1, looking in the direction .of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a broken detailed View in horizontal section, showing thedisposition of binder means at a corner of the carrier.

, Fig. 5 is a broken detailed view in section, showing the manner ofmounting and securing a spacer member for'the binders.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged broken detailed view in vertical section, showingthe disposition the carrier .merchandise is being switched fromsubjected ages, of cargo are liableto take of the parts when binders areapplied to a plurality of tiers of packages or units of merchandise.

It is well known that merchandise, pack ages, boxes, bales, barrels andthe like, loaded on to cars, boats, ships, trucks and other forms ofcarriers, for transportation, and particularly such merchandise, pack-,ages, etc., which are loaded on freight or other cars for transportationto distant points, are subjected in transit to various movements andstrains on account of the movements, shocks, jolts, and jars to which issubjected. For example, of freight cars loaded with one track toanother, or when a train of freight cars so loaded is being made up'bythe switching and shifting of the individual cars, and also while suchtrain is in transit from one point to another", such cars are to severebumps or jolts which frequently are suflicient to overcome the inertiaof the individual packages, boxes, etc., of merchandise with which suchcarrier 1s loaded. Thus, it frequently happens that individual packagesof the cargo are urged with considerable force towards and against adacent packages, and also towards and against the end or side walls ofthe carrier, or are otherwise injured by shifting about or being shiftedabout within the carrier, with the result that individual packages,constituting the cargo or load, are liable to be injured or crushedbetween or against adjacent packages, and in the case of the extreme endpackages of the cargo, that is, those located adjacent the ends of thecarrier, are frequently caused to be impinged or to be crowded orcrushed agaipst the end or side walls, as the case may be, of thecarrier. It is also well-known that in the case of many and variouskinds of packages, especially containers or barrels holding liquids ofvalue, such, by way of illustration, as coca-cola, it often happens thatthe barrels are subjected during transit, to such crushing actions thatserious leaks develop, causing heavy losses. Investigations havedisclosed the fact that these crushing actions on individual containersor packplace, and

when a train acka es under shocks,

such contamers or v h the carrier is subjars, and jolts, to w jected,and also due to the sudden stopping of the car or cars or other forms ofcarrier while in transit. Particularly on down grades, the momentum ofeach individual package or container tends to urge such package orcontainer forwardly in the direction of the downward incline of thegrade, and against the container ahead of it. The result is to transmitor concentrate the ressure of the succeeding individual pac ages orcontainers to or on the outer or inmost packages or containers, therebyjamming the latter up against the end walls of the carrier. In otherwords, succeeding packages or containers act somewhat after the fashionof battering rams on the preceding containers or packages, the batteringeffects of which accumulate in force, and are delivered so as to causebreaks and leaks to occur. The ultimate result is that on arrival of thecargo or shipment at its destination, and as a result of the shocks,jars, jolts, and the like, received during transit, it frequentlyhappens that the cargo is very substantially and materially injured,thereby causinggreat loss. Experience has shown that very great lossesin the shipment of merchandise of all sorts, are experienced from thesecauses. In fact, the shipping records of the railroads reveal theremarkable. fact that it is seldom, articularly in the case of longhauls, that t e transported, cargo arrives at its destination inunimpaired condition. This difiiculty presents a very serious problem oftransportationfto which little suc .cessful effort, apparently, hasheretofore been directed in the attempt to remedy the same. For the mostpart, the efforts'which have heretofore been made in this direction havebeen along lines such as the use .of timbering and lagging, for thepurpose of bracing the cargo against movement within the carrier. .Inother words, bracingtim bers, called lagging, have been secured insidethe car and in such relation to the packa es or individual containers orother forms 0 cargo as to fixedly hold the individual packages attachedto the carrier itself; the various packages and containers or the likebeing so closely stowed or packed into the car as to enable suchbracing, timbering or lagging to rigidly hold the same against movement.Such methods not only are expensive, consuming time in their appllcatlonand requlring labor to mstall and remove the timbering or lagging, butsuch timbering and lagging material also adds considerable weight to theloaded carrier.

Moreover, such timbering or lagging 1s fre-.

quently secured by heavy spikes ,rdriven into the walls, flooring orroofing'of the car,

which it is necessary to extract or remove at the end of the journey,thereby seriously injuring the interior surface of the carrier flooring,sides, Walls orroofing. Besides, the cargo which is thus rigidly fixedand braced in place within the carrier, is subjected to greater strainsand stresses than itwould otherwise be subjected to, since it moredirectly receives the full effects of any shock, jar or bump to whichthe car 1n transit is subjected.

v It is among the special purposes of the present invention to provide amethod and apparatus designed to overcome and avoid the objections abovenoted, and to provide for the assembling and securing of merchandise,packages, containers, or the like, for shipment in such a manner as topermit a more or less elastic movement ofsuch packages, not onlyrelatively to each other, but with reference to the carrier.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown an illustrative arrangement,embodying the principles of my invention.

Referring more particularly to Figs. '1 and 2, Lindicates the end wall,and 2 the side walls, and 3 the doorways of an ordinary freight car. 4indicates a plurality of merchandise packages, some thirty in num ber,shown in this instance as barrels, which are closely packed together,resting endwise upon the floor 5 of the carrier.

Of 'course, the invention is not to 'be limited or restricted with.reference to the numbers of packages so to be packed or loaded.Ordinarily, a number of such packages are located in each end or half ofthe carrier, in the case of a freight car, although this is notessential in carrying out the princi les of my invention. Where a number0 packages are employed-at each,

versely across the car, at the side doors.

This is particularly true in the case of loading systems heretoforeemployed, and in addition to affording space for loading and unloadingthe packages. This unoccupied area is also employed for erecting withinthe carrier, the lagging or timbering for anchor-- ingthe packages inplace. I have indicated in dotted lines at 6, the pressing timbers orlaggin which, prior to my invention,

has ordin fily been used for anchoring the individual containers toprevent them from becoming displaced.

According to my invention, one or morerods or strips, indicated at 7,areprovided, which are reversely bent or otherwise shaped or constructedat each end, to form a loop or eyelet, or other retaining means, suchfor example, as is indicated at 8 and 9. These supports or rods 7, aretemporarily secured in vertical position in any suitable or convenientmanner, as for instance, by staples 10, by which said rods are retainedin position upon the side or end walls of. the carrier. These verticallydisposed rods are positioned at suitable points on the side and aroundthe entiregroup or assembly of 'bled group of packages.

packages, and associated in the retaining means of the verticallydisposed rods. The

"position of the binders, with relation to the height of the packages,.may be varied throughout wide limits, and would depend more or lessupon the nature or character of the packages to be bound. In theillustrative arrangement shown, round binder wires are employed, butobviously my invention is not to be limited or restricted in thisrespect. In Figs. 3 and 6, I have shown, for illustrative purposes, twobinders applied around the assemblyof packages near their bottom ends,and two near their upper ends. My invention, however, is not to belimited or restricted in this respect. In the case of the shipment ofbarrels, for example, the rods 7 are preferably chosen of such a length'as to hold or retain the binders in a plane just below the bilge hoops12 at the lower ends of the barrels, and just above the bilge hooks 16,near the upper ends-0f the barrels.

But as above stated, my invention is not to be limited with respect tothis detail. It is also obvious that the binder may be passed one ormore times around the assembly of packages; or additional binders may beso applied to thegroup or assembly. a

After the binders are applied around each of the groups orassemblies ofpackages in the manner above described, the ends of the binders are thenattached or secured together after being drawn taut around the assem-Ordinarily, the tensioning of the binders around the assembly or groupof packages is effected. under heavy strain or stress, which may amountto several hundred pounds or more, in order to sufiiciently and firmlybind and hold together, and to exert a more or less compressive actionon the assembled packages, as a group or assembly. After this tensionhas been applied and retained, and before it is released, the adjustingends of the binders are securely'fastened together, and such securementmay be eifected in any suitable way. In the case of wire hinders, theends of the binders are twisted together as indicated at'18. (See Fig.3.) The required tensioning of the binders, where binder Wires are used,and the. twisting together of the ends of the binder wires while heldunder tension, may be readily accomplished by well-known wire tensioningand tying macnines 25 now on the market, such for example, as thatdisclosed in U. S. Pat

ent No. 1,456,127, granted May 22, 1923, to G-errard,et al, for wiretensioning and twisting machines. p

The eflect of the tensioning of the binders in the manner abovedescribed, is to cause the binders to firmly and snugly hold andcompress all of the containers together into a single assembly, group,or massed' unlt, so to speak. Anotherw etlect of thisv 'tensioningoperation is that it causes the retaining devices or staples-10, whichtemporarily support the rods 7 upon the wallsof the carrier to be pulledout, and the holding rods 7 to be drawn against and to snugly lie uponor hug the surface of an adjacent container as shown at 50 in Fi 1 andin I dotted lines in F ig.-5, said rods or members 7 acting in thisrelation, as supporters or spreaders for the binders to hold the latterin 'spaced relation with respect to each other, and thereby preventingthem from slipping relatively to each other upon the group or assemblyof packages, and hence preventing them from losing their compressiveaction upon the packages, which was imparted by the tensioning actionreferred to.

After one group or assembly ofpackages has been bound together into aunitary group or assembly, in the manner above de scribed, other groupsmay be similarly secured together in unitary assemblies. In this manner,the entire carrier-load of in dividual packages is unified into one ormore unitary masses, groups, or assemblies, the members of each of whichare firmly compressed and bound together into a unitary assembly, andincapable of appreciable relative movement of the individual elementscomposing such group or assembly, or of movement independently of theentire group, when the carrier stops or is bumped by other cars, or whenother shocks or jars or effects of momentum and inclines are imposedupon the carrier. In other words, the members of these unified andunitary groups or masses of packages are prevented from bumping orimpinging against each other,

and hence they are not permitted to act cumulatively as battering ramsto compress, or crush, or otherwise injure the end elementsof thegroups, as has been the case heretofore. In fact, the aggregate weightof each group or assembly of packages so bound and held together, issuch that thecollective action of the bound group on the floor surfaceof the carrier-1s found, in practice, amply sufficient to cause thepackages heretofore been attained by any; of the methods of securementor anchora e heretofore proposed or attempted. oreover,

with the system of assembling and bindingof packages into unitarymasses, groups, or assemblies, as above described, the employment ofanchoring timbers or lagging is not required, and may be entirelydispensed with, leaving the space in the carrier heretofore occupiedthereby, free for use for other purposes, or for containing otherpackages to be shipped or transported. By disin Fig. 6, the sameadvantages as above in-' dicated likewise accrue. Due to the fact thatthe binders employed are not expensive,

the cost of preparing 'a cargo and applying the binder principle ofstowage thereof is not costly in its application to groups or unitarymasses of the packages to be trans-' ported. In fact,'experience hasshown that the binding of shipping packages in groups and unitary massesin the manner above described is less expensive and effects a remarkablesaving of time, labor, and material, over the timbering or laggingmethods heretofore employed, besides attaining safety of transportationof the packages without injury or loss through breakage, which is notaccomplished with the prior timbering or lagging methods, and the savingin this respect is relatively great,

and therefore most desirable. As will also be seen, the method ofunifying and binding shipping packages in unitary assemblies or groupsin the manner above set forth, is advantageously applicable to shippingarticles generally, and efiects' greater ease of loading, unloading,handling and stowing of the cargo.

\Vh'ere binder wires are used with a tensioning and twisting machinetherefor, such a machine may be supported in any convenient way, orcarried in the hand, as is indicated in dotted lines at 25, Fig. 2.

Of course, it will be understood that the relative position of theindividual elements composing each group or assembly within the assemblyor group, is immateriah and will, in a large measure, depend upon thenature or character of the packages themselves. The relative positioningor arrange ment of these elements, shown in Fig. 1, has been foundconvenient where barrels constitute the cargo.

It is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the procedure aswell as the means above described, throughout wide limits, withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. I do not desiretherefore, to be limited to the exact procedure, arrange-- ment orstructure shown and described,"except as may berequired by the claims.

Having now set forth the objects and nature of my invention,'and astructure em-.

bodying the principles thereof, what I claim as new and useful and of myown invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. The method of preventing damage dur-.

ing transit to shipping packages, which consists in assembling aplurality of such-packages into a group or assembly, temporarilysupporting a binder within the carr1er' hor izontally n surroundingrelation with respect to the group or assembly off-packages, thenapplying and maintaining tension to the binder to apply the same to thegroup or assembly ofpackages under tension, to

hold the individualpackages against relative movement with respect toeach other, and the mass assembly in unattached relation, theapplication of the tension serving also to detach the binder from itstemporary support.

2. The method of loading a car with load elements and preventing damageto the same during. transit which consists in placing a flexible binderwithin the car in position to be passed horizontally around the loadelements, then arranging in the car and within the area included by theflexible binder when so placed, and in vertically disposed positiontherein a sufficient number of the load elements to form a load unitadapted to retain itself substantially in place by its weight andfrictional contact with the car, and finally securing the binder tightlyaround the load elements to form a compact load unit. i

3. The method of freight loading upon carriers which consist in drapinga flexible binder horizontally partially around the space within thecarrier, to beoccupied by the freight, then disposing freight elementsin vertical position'within the space partially surrounded by the binderand drawing the binder tightly around the assembled freight elements andsecuring the same to form a the carrier, capable of retaining itself inplace by its own weight and friction under ghter shocks imparted to thecarrier in transit but free to move under heavier shocks.

In testimony whereof I afii'x my signature.

LEROY F. HINTZ.

